Jakarta governor Ahok investigated over alleged Islam insult as elections loom

Photo:   Malay Mail Online     

Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies

JAKARTA

Maverick Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, as he is known, has never had a filter. Impulsive and polarising, the city’s first openly Christian and ethnic Chinese governor – a double minority in Indonesia – seems to court controversy.

He questioned a ban on beer sales in mini markets – “no one has ever died from from drinking beer” – suggested schools should not compel girls to wear hijab, insisted he needed no support from political parties and antagonised the urban poor with mass forced evictions.

“If only there were some magic tape to put [over his mouth] so that he would talk as we hope,” former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri reportedly lamented at a meeting before her party announced it would endorse him in next February’s gubernatorial elections. “But there’s no such thing.”

For all this, the feisty, straight-talking governor is remarkably popular. Ahok, the former deputy governor, assumed the top role in 2014, when his predecessor Joko Widodo was elected president of Indonesia. His no-nonsense efficiency and tough stance on corruptionstruck a chord with voters, more than 95 per cent of whom are Muslim.

Ahok overhauled the stodgy bureaucracy, launched a smartphone app called Qlue which allowed Jakartans to report flood, crime, fire or waste, and worked on reducing floods and improving the city’s lamentable public transport.

The polls suggest he will be hard to beat: Poltracking Indonesia put his popularity at 92.56 per cent and his electability at 40.77 per cent in September.

But just days before the official election campaign begins on October 26, Ahok is being investigated by police over claims he defamed a verse in the Koran.

Prior to the alleged blasphemy, some Islamic groups had urged voters not to re-elect Ahok, citing verse 51 from the fifth sura or chapter of the Koran, al-Ma’ida, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from living under the leadership of a non-Muslim. Others say the scripture should be understood in its context – a time of war – and not interpreted literally.

In recorded remarks to a group of fishermen that went viral, Ahok suggested that some Muslims were “deceived” by al-Ma’ida 51. The comments caused outrage.

Ahok apologised and insisted he was not criticising the Koranic verse but those who used it to attack him.

But on Friday thousands of hardline Muslims took to the streets, calling on police to process the case. The maximum penalty for blasphemy in Indonesia is five years’ jail.

“The investigation is still going on,” Ari Dono Sukmanto, the head of the national police’s Criminal Investigations Department, told Fairfax Media. “We are now transcribing from the video what was actually said, what actually happened.”

Sukmanto said Ahok would be summoned for questioning: “Everybody is equal before the law and we will need his explanation over what has happened for clarification.”

The two largest Islamic organisations in the country – Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – have stressed that they have no problem with a Muslim voting for a non-Muslim.

Masdur Anwar, the deputy secretary of the Jakarta chapter of NU, does not believe Ahok set out to insult Islam.

“It is impossible that he deliberately did it because it would be suicidal for him,” Anwar told Fairfax Media. “It was just a slip of the tongue. But I can understand those who think it was an insult. Perhaps it is an accumulated feeling [of resentment] about the way Ahok speaks. He is blunt and perhaps these folks couldn’t stand it any more.”

Anwar hopes police investigate the case quickly so the election campaign does not become sectarian.

An editorial in Tempo magazine says the Jakarta election will be a test of the maturity of the young democracy: “Just how far have people left behind primordial prejudices such as religion and race when they go to the polls next February?”

The gubernatorial election is a three-legged race. Ahok’s opponents are Agus Harimurti, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and former education minister Anies Baswedan, who was dumped in the last cabinet reshuffle. Both were surprise candidates: Agus is a political novice who left behind a promising 16-year military career.

The stakes are high. “The position of governor can, as Ahok’s predecessor Jokowi demonstrated, be a springboard for higher office at the national level,” La Trobe University senior lecturer Dirk Tomsa writes. “Indeed, whoever wins in Jakarta next year might well be expected to find himself in the running for a presidential, or more likely, vice-presidential ticket in 2019.”

 

The South Morning Herald

Wed, 19 October 2016

Photo: Fajarnews.com

http://www.smh.com.au/world/jakarta-governor-ahok-investigated-over-alleged-islam-insult-as-elections-loom-20161018-gs510o.html

 

 

Chinese Moslem Entrepreneurs to establish a consortium with Moslem SMEs in Indonesia

C09
JAKARTA

CHINESE Moslem Entrepreneurs planned to establish a consortium with Moslem businessmen in Indonesia. The organization of Chinese Moslem entrepreneurs provided opportunities for cooperation and support working capital, particularly to the Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

“We focus on ASEAN because there is Asean Economic Community (AEC), especially on SMEs business,” said a member of Chinese Moslem Entrepreneurs from Ningxia Cina, Rudy Fang, in “Macthing Business Meeting”, in Tajammu/Resto & Cafe (TRC) organized by KOSAGON, a Gontor alumni cooperative, in Jakarta, Tuesday (27/10).

Rudy said, Chinese Moslem Entrepreneurs is ready to help Indonesian Moslem businessmen to get international funding. According to him, there are some things that need to be owned by cooperatives and SMEs to access international funding, one them is to have clear vision and mission.

“Vision means, there is purpose to be achieved for the next 20 years,” Rudy added.

In addition, Chinese Moslem Entrepreneurs provided opportunity for Indonesian businessmen to follow the trade mission to Xinjiang, China. Rudy stated, Indonesian Moslem businessman could see and learn how Chinese Moslem run their business.

“In China, there are about 100 million Moslems. They have a good economy and it was evidenced by the ability to build and finance their own business,” he said.

Republika
Thursday, 29 October 2015

http://en.republika.co.id/berita/en/jakarta-region-others/15/10/29/nwzgvi317-chinese-moslem-entrepreneurs-to-establish-a-consortium-with-moslem-smes-in-indonesia

Malay population the most unhealthy group in Singapore

Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent

The Malay population is the unhealthiest in Singapore.

Latest statistics from the national disease registry reveal that a disproportionate number of diabetics and patients with kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes come from this group.

Although Malays account for 13.5 per cent of the population, they make up 24.4 per cent of people on dialysis. Once diagnosed with end-stage renal disease, patients need either a transplant or dialysis for the rest of their lives.

The proportion of Malays who have had kidney transplants rose from 8.5 per cent in 2003 to 10.1 per cent last year.

Malays – both men and woman – are also at significantly higher risk of suffering a stroke than people of other races. Malay men are 1.5 times more likely to suffer one compared to Chinese men for instance.

Age-standardised stroke rates for every 100,000 men last year was 296 for Malays, 199 for Indians and 184 for Chinese. For women, it was 195 for Malays, 131 for Indians and 105 for Chinese. Age-standardisation removes the influence of age distribution in each group and allows for a fair comparison.

Malays are also more likely to suffer heart attacks. Since 2010, they have surged past Indians as the ethnic group with the highest rate of heart attacks.

The report said: “The higher incidence of acute myocardial infarction among Malays is likely to be due to their higher proportions of hypertension and high cholesterol compared to the other ethnic groups.”

It added that most Malays are unaware of their conditions compared to people of other races.

The only major illness which the Malay population is not the most likely to get is cancer. This is most prominent among the Chinese.

Former storekeeper Mohamad Raihan Yaakub, 68, suffers from diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. He rarely exercises but has cut down from one pack of cigarettes a day to one every three days.

The unemployed man started dialysis four years ago and lost his older brother to kidney failure.

He had a blocked artery and had a stent inserted more than a decade ago. His children have no major health problems, but his son has taken up smoking too.

“I tell him not to smoke, but he doesn’t listen,” he said.

In Singapore, smokers make up almost a quarter of heart attack and stroke sufferers.

Mr Sukandar Kastam, 49, was diagnosed with diabetes when he was only 25 years old. He has been on dialysis for the past six years.

He used to weigh 120kg but has since lost 50kg. He too is unemployed and says he has been turned down time and again for jobs because of his need for dialysis three times a week.

He admits that he does not exercise “because lazy lah”. Although he lives fairly near the National Kidney Foundation’s dialysis centre in Kim Keat Road, he would ride his motorbike there rather than walk.

Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said community groups and mosques have been organising health-related activities for the Malay community, but a more concerted effort is needed.

“A lot of the pushing will have to be done at the community level and we should partner health-care providers like the hospitals and polyclinics for this effort,” she said.

“Also, we should catch them young when habits are not yet formed on eating, exercising and prevention. Taking care of our health is our own responsibility.”

salma@sph.com.sg

The Straits Times
Sunday, 21December 2014

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/health/story/malay-population-the-most-unhealthy-group-singapore-20141221

Chinese community in Brunei

 

Darul Aqsha

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

 

 

“FANTASTIC!” an Indonesian blogger wrote in his blog after he visited Brunei Darussalam which coincided with Chinese New Year two years ago.

He posted some beautiful scenes of the celebration and the daily life of the Chinese community in Brunei on his blog.

He saw colours of red and yellow dominating almost every corner of the country, especially in shopping centres in Bandar Seri Begawan, while firecrackers and fireworks were lit amidst Tarian Singa (lion dances) performances..

The blogger apparently didn’t know that the Chinese community represents ten per cent of the population in Brunei or more than 43,000 people.

China and Brunei have long established diplomatic relations since ancient times. The Chinese settlement in this country can be traced back to more than 1,000 years ago. There was a Chinese figure named Ong Sum Ping who married Puteri Ratna Dewi, the daughter of Sultan Muhammad Shah of Brunei. He was later granted the title of Pengiran Maharaja Lela and elected Chief of Kinabatangan (Sabah).

A Chinese community was found in Kampong Bakut China, Kampong Ayer. In the early 1900s, they began to move their businesses to dry land which is now known as Jalan Sultan.

Michelle Tan, in her article on Chinese in Brunei published in The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas (Harvard University Press, 1999) said that during the 1600s a large Chinese community settled in Brunei.

They were responsible for the trade of gold, pepper, and other spices in the country. In the latter part of the century, however, they were asked to leave the country but came back a century later. They continued to plant pepper and other spices. The first population census in 1911 recorded that there were 736 Chinese in Brunei. By the 1920s, this figure increased to 1,423 people.

Chinese immigration more than doubled as Brunei discovered the existence of oil in 1929. In 16 years (1931-1947), the population of the Chinese community increased by more than 200 per cent. “Chinese from Sarawak, Singapore and Hong Kong who were technically qualified, came to Brunei to look for jobs in the oil industry,” Tan said.

Due to employment opportunities available, the number of Chinese immigration continued to increase until after World War II.

While the number of Chinese immigrants was not as big compared to those in Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia, they still accounted for one fifth of Brunei’s population in 1947-1981. Based on their origins, the community communicate in different Chinese languages and dialects. The Hokkien (Min Nan) tongue predominates in the Brunei-Muara and Temburong districts, while Cantonese and Hakka speakers are mostly concentrated in the Seria and Kuala Belait areas of the Belait district.

Other Chinese dialects spoken in Brunei include Hoisan, Fuchow and Hainanese. However, they use Mandarin as the lingua franca. It is the common language at the primary level in private Chinese schools and is taught as a subject at secondary level.

The Chinese community in Brunei is made up of those who were from Quemoy (Jinmen) and speak Hokkien, and the rest speak Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, Teochiu, Henghua (Xinghua) and others. As in other overseas Chinese communities, these different groups are located in different areas.

To cater their each interests, there are various Chinese associations such as the Belait District Hainanese Association, Brunei Hainan Huiguan, Belait District Fuzhou Association, Belait District Hakka Association, Brunei Guangdong-Huizhou-Zhaoqing Association, Brunei Dabu Association and Chinese Taipei Sojourners Society. Although these associations did not establish any of the eight Chinese schools in Brunei, they make annual contributions to these schools.

Aside from the place-of-origin associations, other Chinese organisations in Brunei are involved with charity, mutual aid and welfare, religion, recreation and sport. There are also a number of associations that deal with their profession such as the Chinese Engineering Association in Belait district which was founded in 1930.

 

The Sultanate recognised the Chinese community’s contributions to this country. Even some of them were awarded titles such as Dato from His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for their great contributions to the country.

Some personalities who were awarded include Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng, Pehin Kapitan Lela Di-Raja Dato Paduka Goh King Chin, Pehin Kapitan China Kornia Di-Raja Dato Paduka Lau Ah Kok and others.

 

 

The Brunei Times

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chinese-style mosque: Symbol of Indonesia’s diversity

Masjid Cheng Ho, Surabaya. Picture: Darul Aqsha

By Darul Aqsha

FROM a distance people may not think that a building with Chinese-style architecture in the middle of Surabaya, Indonesia, is in fact a mosque.

Many people who pass by will definitely assume that the building is a Chinese temple because it does not have the usual dome and minaret.

Located in Jalan Gading in Surabaya, the busy capital city of the Indonesia’s East Java province, Masjid Muhammad Cheng Hoo is the first mosque in the country which uses a Chinese Muslim’s name. Mosque officials say that at least there are two mosques managed by Chinese Muslims in Jakarta, Bandung and Tretes, Pasuruan, East Java.

Cheng Ho or Zheng He was a pious Chinese Muslim explorer who served the Ming dynasty of China in the 15th century.
He was the “messenger of peace” of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is recorded that the admiral had successfully led seven expeditions across the
great oceans, bringing peace and commerce to Asian and African countries.

These voyages opened a new ocean commercial route called “The Ocean Silk Route”.

During his visit to the Majapahit imperium of Java, the Ming admiral brought goods such as silk, ceramics, Chinese medicine and tea. A brochure published by the Construction Committee of the Masjid Cheng Hoo mentioned that in order to form close bilateral ties, admiral Cheng Ho presented the Princess of Champa to be the wife of the King of Majapahit. Their offspring was Prince Jin Bun or
better known as Raden Fatah, the founder and the first sultan of Demak, the first Islamic kingdom in Java.

Historian Sie Hok Tjwan of the East Javanese town of Malang revealed that before the arrival of European colonials, there was no racial problems between the
Chinese and the indigenous people of the archipelago. “Islam in Java, Palembang
(South Sumatra) and Sambas (West Kalimantan) came from Chinese ulamas who adhered to the “madzhab Hanafi”.

According to Tjwan, in 1451, Bong Swee Ho, who hailed from Champa, had built an Islamic dakwah centre for the people in the Surabaya area of Ampel. “That’s why for his popularity, Bong Swee Ho was later known as Sunan Ampel. His son, Bong Ang, was known as Sunan Bonang, who resided in Tuban, while his other son was known as Sunan Drajat in Lamongan. They were known as the ‘Walisongo’ (Nine Muslim Saints),” he said.

Sie Hok Tjwan apparently was referring to a book written by Prof Dr Slametmuljana , a philologist of the University of Indonesia, entitled Runtuhnya Kerajaan Hindu-Jawa dan Timbulnya Negara-negara Islam di Nusantara (The Fall of the Javanese-Hindu Kingdoms and the Rise of the Islamic States in the Archipelago, 1968). In his book, Slamatmuljana mentioned that Islam in Indonesia came from China and was spread by Chinese Muslims.

“The name of Muhammad Cheng Ho is to remind the younger Chinese generation in Indonesia that Islam was brought to the country peacefully by a respectful Muslim Chinese,” said mosque official Haji Soleh to The Brunei Times.

The construction of the mosque began on October 15, 2001, and was completed a year later. The mosque was officiated by the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Prof Dr Said Agil Husain Al-Munawar.

Built on a 3,070-square-metre plot of land with cost of Rp3,3 billion, the mosque itself measured 21 x 11 metres with its main building 11 x 9 metres. A traditional drum (bedug) is located on the right side of the mosque. The
11-metre length of the main building is to remind Muslims that the length of the Ka’bah in Mekah is also 11 metres when it was first built by by the Prophet Ibrahim AS. While its nine-metre width meanwhile refers to the Walisongo who
spread Islam in Java during the 15th-16th centuries.

Besides that the form at the top part of the main building is octagonal or in the Chinese tradition is called “pat kwa”. The number “eight” (‘pat’ in Chinese) could also ean “victory” and “lucky”.

The mosque also has facilities such as kindergarten, sports centre, management office, canteen, and Mandarin language courses.

With these facilities, the management of the mosque hopes that it could help “to form good relationship among the communities.”

The Brunei Times
Saturday, August 28, 2010